Cellvizio Vocabulary

CONFOCAL MICROSCOPY:

A particular configuration of microscopy which, by means of scanning an optical beam onto the sample and rejecting out-of focus light, enables reaching a higher lateral resolution and a higher contrast on biological tissues. Most of the time, the light source is a laser which excites the endogeneous or exogeneous fluorescence of the tissue.

FLUORESCENCE:

Some molecules have the ability to absorb light at a specific wavelength and re-emit some part of the corresponding energy at longer wavelengths (and over a wider spectral range). The absorption and emission spectra are specific to these molecules, which explains why the contrast of fluorescence images depends on the tissue. When these molecules are naturally present in the tissue, the fluorescence is called 'endogeneous fluorescence' (or 'autofluorescence'). When it is brought by an externally administrated chemical compound, it is called 'exogenous fluorescence'. Fluorescein is an example of such compounds.

LASER:

Laser are a specific class of light sources often used in microscopy, which concentrate a relatively high intensity in a very narrow spectrum.

DEPTH OF OBSERVATION OF THE CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE:

The confocal depth is the depth of imaging. The image that appears on the screen of the microscope is what can be seen at this depth of imaging.

OPTICAL FIBER:

An optical fiber is a flexible and transparent fiber made of high-quality extruded glass or plastic. It can be used as a waveguide to transmit light between the two tips of the fiber. The Cellvizio® Miniprobes™ are composed of thousands of optical fibers grouped in bundles (30,000 for thickest ones).

RESOLUTION OF THE MICROSCOPE: 

The resolution power of a microscope is its ability to distinguish small and adjacent details within an image. The resolution is the minimal distance (often measured in micrometers) between two such details.

FIELD OF VIEW: 

This is the height x width of the image that can be observed by a microscope. For circular images, the field of view is the diameter.